Rotating electrical machine cooling system

• US 8,912,691 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2013
• Issued: 12/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Miyamoto, Tomohiko, Nagata, Kenjiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamen, Noah
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOUBRY, JAMES G
• Application Number:
  US13/773,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20130213607A1
• Time in Patent Office: 662 Days
• Field of Search: 123/196.AB, 123/198.C, 123/41.28, 123/41.29, 123/41.42, 123/41.47, 310/10, 310/16, 417/15, 417/410.1, 417/223, 165/104.19, 137/468, 137/511
• US Class Current: 310/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 11/02 with liquid cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/006 the electric motors
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 15/00 Check valves valves specially adapted for inflatable balls A63B41/00
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 2021/0089 Oil coolers
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 21/00 Heat-exchange apparatus not covered by any of the groups F28D1/00 - F28D20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7737 Thermal responsive
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7837 Direct response valves [i.e., check valve type]

Abstract

A rotating electrical machine cooling system includes a cooling structure for a rotating electrical machine that is mounted on a hybrid vehicle, and a controller. The cooling structure includes a coolant discharge channel and a coolant supply channel through which a coolant is circulated between an oil pump unit and the interior of a case body that includes the rotating electrical machine therein. The cooling structure further includes a bypass flow channel that connects the oil pump unit and the interior of the case body with each other, and a relief valve that is provided in the bypass flow channel. The oil pump unit includes a mechanical oil pump and an electric oil pump.

Claims

1. A rotating electrical machine cooling system comprising:

a motive power unit that includes an internal combustion engine and a rotating electrical machine;

a coolant reservoir in which a coolant for cooling the rotating electrical machine is stored;

a mechanical coolant pump that is driven by the internal combustion engine, sucks the coolant from the coolant reservoir, and discharges the coolant to a main discharge flow channel via a first check valve to supply the coolant to the rotating electrical machine;

an electric coolant pump that sucks the coolant from the coolant reservoir, is connected to the main discharge flow channel via a second check valve in parallel with the mechanical coolant pump, and discharges the coolant from a discharge port of the electric coolant pump to supply the coolant to the rotating electrical machine;

a bypass flow channel that branches off from a flow channel between the discharge port of the electric coolant pump and the second check valve, to supply the coolant to the rotating electrical machine; and

a relief valve that is provided in the bypass flow channel and opens at a predetermined relief pressure.

2. The rotating electrical machine cooling system according to claim 1, wherein

the relief valve opens at a relief pressure that is set as a discharge pressure between a discharge pressure of the coolant at a time when a temperature of the coolant is equal to a lower-limit temperature of a suitable temperature range and a discharge pressure threshold at a threshold temperature of the coolant that is lower than the lower-limit temperature of the suitable temperature range.

3. The rotating electrical machine cooling system according to claim 2, wherein

the main discharge flow channel is provided with a heat exchanger that lowers a temperature of the coolant, and

the mechanical coolant pump is stopped and the electric coolant pump is operated to supply the coolant to the rotating electrical machine via the relief valve without intervention of the heat exchanger, when the temperature of the coolant is lower than a suitable temperature.